Freedom Riders arrested and abused at Sheffield Station
It was shocking to see my old friend from Barnsley NUT, arrested with such over the top policing on Sheffield Station. Good that the coverage has now gone national. Using the terrorism act to threaten a journalist who was simply filming a newsworthy incident in a public place is disgraceful. But thanks to the police over reaction it looks like the protest could now gain more publicity than the 50,000 people who marched peacefully through the streets of London last weekend demanding an end to the Government’s austerity policies. It seems that if you want media attention now (unless your name is Nigel Farage) the only way to get it is to break the law and risk being man handled by the police. This is not a good place for democracy to be in.
Coverage in the Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/jun/24/sheffield-reporter-arrest-anti-terrorism-laws
Here’s Caroline Lucas speaking to the anti austerity protestors in London. The media really should have given this massive march more coverage.
38 Degrees have a petition concerning the lack of coverage for the anti austerity march. Please sign it.
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/demand-the-bbc-s-report-on-analyse-the-growing-austerity-protest-movement-actions